If you are anything like me you probably went into meltdown at the news that Google Reader was disappearing. WHY????? I hate change. While I didn't really LOVE google reader I certainly loved what it could do - allow me to read all my blogs easily.
At first I thought well this is a good chance to start afresh with a new reader and a new lot of blogs because my taste has changed over time and so many blogs I used to follow have stopped writing or have evolved to be other things that don't interest me.
But that would be kind of drastic so I instead I decided to trial a few before it disappears for good.
At the moment I'm using
Feedly on my Mac (I'm yet to put it on my school laptop .. but it's on my to do list.)
I love the look of it - it's pretty and easy to follow - it's more like reading a mag. You can pin just by hovering over a photo - you can email an article add to evernote tweet or facebook. I like it alot.
On my phone/ Ipad I tried using the free version of Feeddler. I liked it too - simple to use and a good easy interface. It's more like what Google reader is like. BUT I'm going to switch to Feedly exclusively.
I spent some time tonight organising all my feeds - and I ditched a heap and sorted them into categories. It was simple to do- much easier than with google reader.
At the moment when I sign in I'm signing in using my gmail account which is obviously my google account - which holds my google reader stuff so everything just transferred.
BUT apparently they have a system place so you don't have to worry about it after google dies. You can read about that plan here
So do tell what are you using ??? Am I on the right track do you think? I know lots are switching to blog lovin...
Are you working on a project life this year ? I am and I'm loving it! I'm finding I get to Saturday night and want to start pulling my pages together. I'm on the fence about buying a kit to use. I do love some of the new ones that have been released and are due out I think in early may. I'm also loving all the digi stuff that is available. I just had a look in my google reader under the posts that I starred and the last 5 have cool project life things in them. My pinterest board from project life is filling up too!
These are stamps by Ali E - and I'm a stamp hoarder not user so I wont buy them BUT if you read closely they are actually from this set of digital files - YAY That I can buy LOL
Last year I was so excited to start project life - I did one double page layout in November.
Then I stopped.
I started my December Daily.
Then I stopped.
Then I did six weeks of project life from January - MINUS the journalling - just printed photos and put them in and left notes on what I wanted to say.
I KNOW I have plenty of reasons not to beat myself up on the why I didn't get on and do it. I really didn't feel creative at all during that time.
That being said I did keep up my blog and taking photos on my phone. I documented my whole cancer journey and the story of our lives as we struggled to keep things as normal as we could.
This year is different. I really want to do PL. I love the concept it's like 'old day' scrapbooking. You can't help but be inspired by the creative team. Their pages are really lovely.
But more than any of that my girls are growing way way way too fast. As much as it bothers me and we truly do not dwell, also flitting through my mind is the unknown of how many more years I'll have to take these photos and tell these stories. Life has a way of throwing me curve balls.
I had a few people nagging at me and my own head saying do it you have everything you need and more. I am realistic enough to know that weeks get busy when I'm back at work and there is still surgery and recovery to come - I also have a marathon to prepare for :) I still waivered.
I googled and pinned and read blogs and procrastinated.
What have I done that has worked? Dec Daily - failed so many times - but this year - Photos on my phone - to my icloud and digital template.
Done.
Chemo cancer blah - photos on my phone - documented either on my blog or more recently on facebook, through instagram.
Done.
So there is my magic formula - this is what works for me. Phone photos automatically saved so no mucking around with uploading. I did however want to play with paper and pretty things so digi wasn't the answer.
Who has pages that I love to look at?
I am inspired by Cathy Zielske ( neat simple everyday stories ) I love the colours of Liz Tamanaha ( cute kids! simple great templates ) But I'm more Marcy Penner in the shabby chic style than Cathy and Liz ( can't cut straight so save my life ) with the exception that I hate my handwriting and I dont have one of those amazing cutters to cut out words etc.
SO I came up with the following process
Iphone pictures saved automatically ( no I'm not ruling out getting out my camera occasionally but mostly it will be phone because I already do that all the time)
Design done digitally - so I can slowly add to it as I do photos
Simple embellishments - shop my stash pop it all in a box and make it work don't go searching for just one more thingy.
Journalling done digitally.
Print it out
If you follow me on instagram or facebook you'll know I'm finished my first week and title page YAY.
I won't gloss - first double page took me hours but that's because I was mucking around with journalling boxes trying to work out sizes and creating templates and then half way through I changed my mind and started again.
It's hard to get a decent photo of pages when they are in the albums - I'll need to work on that so for now here is my digital mock up.
( you can click for bigger if you'd like to read the journalling )
I printed my title page photos on my little Canon selphy - best printer so tiny but the main pages I took my photos to Camera House today and had them printed matte for 19c each. My journalling I printed onto white cardstock from officeworks A4 size on my Canon pixma which I have had for years. As you can see I added no embellishments to my main pages as I had plenty just from photos and stories. Title journalling cards are from Cathy Zielske freebies which I just edited to suit a colour I liked.
Now I am all good I have my formula worked out. Bring on next week I say!
Are you still on the fence - are you thinking you may want to do this but you don't know where to start ?
Like all projects.
JUST START - Don't over think it. Do your title page - print some photos of everyone.
Don't have any you really like ? Do what I did - line them all up (at 9.00pm no light !) no make up no pretty matching clothes and take them one at a time.
Ignore the grumbling.Take your own. Swap them to black and white. Don't forget your furbabies :)
Make sure you put something like 2013 Project Life telling our story or some such somewhere on it. Done.
Other things I have had people say to me are that they are doing
One page a week (instead of two)
One page a month
Only using instagram photos
Just doing it on their blog/facebook
Setting a time frame - like Sunday night (Cathy Zielske does this - she sets a certain time each week to work on it
Setting a certain amount of time and then what's done is done
Miss a week? Skip it do the next week don't worry about catching up.
Making this their only creative thing - this is their "hour or two a week me time"
All I can suggest is make it work for you because it's your life your story your memories. I look back at my attempt last year and I'm genuinely really sad that I didn't get it done. I don't want 2013 to be the same.
I'd love to know if you are joining in :)
I am aware that quite a few of my readers these days don't come from my scrapping days so if that is you and you are thinking what the ?
I have had a couple of questions about my snapfish album ( Hi Dee! ).
I have made a number of them over the years and I find that they are simple enough to use and also quite affordable if you find a coupon code.
You can either use their templates and drop all your photos in and edit readily.
Or if you'd like to do what I do and make your own pages then there is a little trick to it.
I usually choose the soft cover ( cheapest one ) and the 20 x 20 cm - because it suits the scrapbooker in me :) So any digital pages that I have created can be dropped straight in.
That being said for my December Daily I chose the 20 x 28 because that fitted the template style I chose.
SO first up create all your pages and save them as jpgs.
Then go to create your book.
Choose your style.
You'll be prompted to upload your photos. Navigate to where they are saved and upload them.
Then choose your album.
Next you'll be asked to choose a theme - if you have already created full pages this is irrelevant so I always stick with classic.
You'll notice that the book already has a preset layout.
On the left hand side is options for layouts. Choose the one photo one.
Now you can click and drag the single one photo to the whole page. Do this through your whole album.
Now you can go back and add your pre made pages.
Tada one completed album.
My last tip is to always google for a discount code - it's pretty rare not to find one that is valid!
Hope that helps - If you get stuck just ask and I'll do my best to solve it for you.
The other night at the drive in - between shows I made the mistake of checking my facebook news feed. Sharon had posted about her manifesto making. I swear I don't remember 3/4s of the movie because every chance I got ( ie when the girls weren't looking) I was madly clicking through following her links. There is a lovely gallery of them here.
It just spoke volumes to me. Seriously sometimes I have to be hit across the back of the head to get the message.
I have seen this one before - I have it printed actually as postcards to send out to some friend.
Last week I spoke with a colleague about a work manifesto and an idea that he had for our SFD.
Last month I spoke with a friend about designing a business and how all business needed a manifesto of sorts to explain what they stood for. I actually used those words manifesto.
But for some reason I never put that together with writing my own. Hello ?? Honestly if I was anymore asleep I wouldn't be breathing!
So back to the story I read and read and then started jotting notes on my phone - a jimble jumble of words. Edited and edited and voila here is mine.
I used photoshop to create it. Mine is going up at work and I'm putting a second copy here at my desk.
If you would like your own manifesto but creating stuff digitally makes you break out in hives then flick me an email with the words that you'd like and the colour(s) that you'd like and I will whip it up for you in no time. All you have to do is print :)
I think we all should have a little plan for how we want our 2013 to look don't you ?
Not all days are filled with sparkly christmas love. Be nice if they were.
Today was marred by the passing of a dear friend. Someone I had worked with for 18 years. She was one of my staunchest supporters in my darkest times. She always told me that she and I would make it because only the good die young and neither her nor I were good. She was wrong because today she left me to fight alone. We shared oncologists and I had to visit with him today too. A mix up with the lab meant that he wasn't able to give me any results and I had to go take further bloods. I'll know how I am travelling in the next few days.
Definitely not sparkly. I took plenty of time out for reflection and reality.
I promise not to share a page a day - just when I get organised enough to make them.
A few days ago we had some long chats in our family about finding a new routine. While without doubt it has a been a blessing the last two years that Richard's work allows him to work from home it not without it's challenges. Being the homebody and people lover that he is he has always wanted to be based in the family room amongst all the action. This is fine through the term but in the holidays it's fairly challenging to keep the girls entertained and quiet while he goes about his day of work - of which 70% is spent on the phone! If I say shh Daddy is working once I say it a thousand times. We tend to go out for day trips and off on adventures but I'm not as energetic as I used to be and honestly the thought of doing that for the next 8 weeks just exhausts me.
So today I converted half my craftroom into a space for Richard to work. It's quite bare at the moment and he is yet to move his equipment in while we wait for the electrician to come on Tuesday. He will then swap the phone lines and provide the work cabling that he needs. This way we can close the door and the girls and I can craft away outside with our music going and he will be none the wiser. If he's very lucky we may even make him nice treats and bring them in to him for morning tea :)
At the last minute I suddenly remembered it was December Daily time. I am without doubt the poster girl for fail when it comes to December Daily. I don't know why - as I do week in the life so well. To date I have made two albums AND taken the pictures AND printed the photos but I never put it altogether. I have also in the past done some blogging about it, I have attempted simple picture and words - I've tried it all. I have no clue why I think this year will be different but nevertheless here I am trying again.
A quick chat on facebook and a google and I have decided on these templates and I'll make it into a snapfish book. (20 x 28cm)
I started tonight and almost stopped before I started - paralysed by deciding how much I wanted to fit into the story. But then I remembered it's not about telling the whole story it's just about sharing and remembering.
So here it is
What I didn't share was the morning tea at fifth avenue with my grandparents, the cute photos I managed to get with Richard and the girls, the coffee we had together without them while we went market shopping this morning, my frustration and tears at my 5k run, the dinner I made for friends tonight, my fun new ikea lights, the lovely new book Sofia is reading, the thoughtful gift that arrived today and how much we love saturday mail during christmas here, the release of the latest issue of Etz and my article. That's just the start.
Everyday is filled to overflowing.
So how do I decide what goes in and what doesn't? I'm not sure but I'm going to try to share something from each day in December so at the end I can create a lovely keepsake book.
Life isn't a matter of milestones but moments. Are you making a December Daily?
This is my last week in the life post - I have enjoyed it this year especially as I have documented nearly each night. Certainly using the templates makes it easy and Im thrilled I have a full week just like this to add to my Project Life.
click for bigger
Details
The boys were fascinated to learn that not only did Ma write a children’s story she was also in the process of illustrating it.
Details
We skipped mass today as we waited to see what the weather held and what Lisa’s plans were. As it turned out Will’s family came down from Brisbane so they spent the morning with them in Surfers. We headed off for brunch at our favourite cafe and then went shopping for some colouring books and activities for the boys. I managed to revitalise the lovely floral arrangement Richard’s team had sent us last week by replacing the wilting flowers with fresh ones. I am quite chuffed with how it turned out. This morning Richard taught Sofia how to play triominos. She took to it quickly and beat him in just three rounds. Mid afternoon she challenged me and won again. Beginner’s luck I say. I joined Lisa and the boys to visit Ma and Pa for afternoon tea. She has such a small house filled with precious treasures we were a bit wary about how the boys would cope. They were so well behaved except when Chase asked for a ham sandwich - that’s never good in a Jewish household. Or when I went to take photos and he kept turning his back to me. He couldn’t even be enticed with his banana milkshake. Later on though he was all smiles and cuddles when Lisa snapped a shot of him with me. Lisa’s three boys are all so delightful but I keep threatening to keep Chase the littlest. He is so so cute. They all turn on the charm in a way my girls have never done. Ma fills her days with an amazing number of things. She is currently writing some children’s stories and illustrating them. I am not sure if she plans on ever having them published but she is enjoying the process. Today she shared some of her illustrations with the boys. They were so fascinated. After we headed back to our home for dinner. Will was at his work course so it was just the 5 kids, Lisa, Richard and I. We used our extension on our new dining room table for the first time - it worked a treat. The girls would have loved their cousins to stay all night but tomorrow is school and the boys were tired so the evening ended far too soon. It’s lovely having them here even though they aren’t staying with us. I so wished they lived here. Lisa wishes we lived there. I’m not sure we will ever live close unfortunately.
I'm yet to take a photo that I can use on the title page - I think it would be good to do something that includes all four of us ... will have to organise that.
I'll be interested to look back next year on this years one that's for sure :)
I am still taking photos with just my iphone - not ah uge amount a dozen or so if that but still able to tell the story of each day quite well. I used the kindle photo from the web as I dont have one yet it's just to document my research :)and of course the movie image too.
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We tried not to allow the weather to interrupt our plans for the day too much.
The rain continued with vengeance today hampering our plans. We headed off early to vote in the local council elections. Our plan was to spend the day at Seaworld with Lisa, Will and the kids. After much discussion, everyone went except me. I can’t get ill right now so it wasn’t worth the risk. They had a fun time despite the weather, with the bright spot being that there was no waiting for rides or shows. The park was quite empty unsurprisingly. As expected, Richard and the girls took zero photos. I made vegetable soup for afternoon tea in preparation my three wet and tired lovelies. I took advantage of the quiet and continued with my research into E readers. I have finally decided on a Kindle Touch without the 3G and now I am waiting not too patiently for Richard to get it for me. Lisa and I had planned on a movie so we turned it into a real treat and went to Gold Class at Robina. She had never been before. We arrived early and sat in the lounge with a hot drink and chatted. It was our first chance to catch up alone since they arrived. The movie was soppy and predictable but enjoyable. Afterwards we headed to Max Brenners to indulge with dessert. It was my first Max cappuccino in eight months and I loved every drop.
Welcome to my blog, I am so happy you came to visit. I share the stories of my life creating, documenting and loving as a Mumma to twin girls. I am navigating a clean eating lifestyle as I run towards being a breast cancer survivor.
